A CALL TO THE CLEANSING WORK OF THE SPIRIT
Brethren, this is no cold doctrine – it is a living reality. The Holy Spirit purifies souls in obeying the truth. This is not a once-off washing but a continual sanctifying, renewing, refining process until the believer shines like gold refined in fire. The Word declares, “Ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit” (1 Peter 1:22).
Do you see it? Obedience is the path; truth is the instrument; the Spirit is the power. Without Him, obedience becomes hollow, truth becomes distant, and holiness becomes impossible. Christ prayed, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth” (John 17:17).
The Word cleanses, but it is the Spirit who applies it. You may read the Bible cover to cover, but until the Holy Ghost breathes upon it, it will not purify you – it will merely pass over your mind like water on stone.
THE SPIRIT WHO WASHES AND RENEWS
Friends, man cannot cleanse himself. The stain runs deeper than skin; it seeps into the soul. But listen: “Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean… A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you” (Ezekiel 36:25–27). That’s God’s promise – a cleansing and renewing that starts from within.
The Holy Spirit does not patch up an old nature. He gives a new one. “By the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Titus 3:5), the believer is reborn, renewed, and redirected. The water symbolizes purity; the Spirit supplies power. Jesus said, “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you” (John 15:3). O how vital it is to let that Word dwell richly in us! For only then does the Spirit have material to work with – the living seed of truth that sanctifies.
THE DEATH OF THE OLD AND THE LIFE OF THE NEW
The Spirit’s purifying fire burns where the flesh once ruled. “If ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live” (Romans 8:13). Death to sin is not self-help; it is Spirit-help. The flesh cannot crucify itself – it must be nailed by the Spirit’s power.
To “walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16) is to take every step in obedience, to lean on divine strength, to breathe holiness. And what blooms from that walk? “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace…” (Galatians 5:22–23). These are not forced virtues but the fragrance of a purified heart.
The Spirit renews the mind until we “put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:23–24). Friends, this is transformation. Not outward religion, but inward renewal. Not self-reform, but Spirit rebirth.
OBEDIENCE THAT CLEANSES AND FAITH THAT SANCTIFIES
Psalm 119 asks the timeless question: “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.” (Psalm 119:9). Obedience is not optional – it’s the highway of holiness. “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psalm 119:11). The Word in the heart is a shield in the battle.
When Peter saw Gentiles receive the Spirit, he declared that God had “purified their hearts by faith” (Acts 15:8–9). Faith opens the door; the Spirit cleanses within. But it doesn’t stop there – obedience must follow. “Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only” (James 1:22). A faith that refuses obedience is like a lamp without oil – soon dim and useless.
THE BLOOD AND THE SPIRIT WORK TOGETHER
The Spirit purifies because the blood of Christ has made it possible. “How much more shall the blood of Christ… purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Hebrews 9:14). The Spirit takes that cleansing power and presses it into the conscience, washing away guilt and fear.
“Let us draw near with a true heart… having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water” (Hebrews 10:22). O my soul, see the beauty of divine cooperation – the blood removes the guilt, the Spirit renews the heart, the Word sustains the purity.
And Paul cries, “Ye are washed, ye are sanctified, ye are justified… by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11). There’s the full gospel in one verse: washed, sanctified, justified – and all through the Spirit applying the merits of Christ.
THE SPIRIT’S REFINING FIRE
Purification is not always pleasant. The refiner’s fire burns; the fuller’s soap stings. Yet “He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver… he shall purify the sons of Levi” (Malachi 3:2–3). The Holy Spirit will not leave dross in the gold. His fire consumes everything that resists truth.
Hebrews tells us, “He chastens us for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness” (Hebrews 12:10). And when the process is complete, “it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness” (Hebrews 12:11). The pain of purification gives way to the peace of holiness.
TRANSFORMED BY TRUTH
Friends, holiness begins in the mind. “Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). The Spirit rewrites our thought patterns with God’s truth until sin loses its charm. This is what Paul meant when he said, “Ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine… being made free from sin” (Romans 6:17–18). The same Spirit who saves also sanctifies, teaching us to think heaven’s thoughts on earth.
And as we behold the Lord in His Word, “we are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18). O wondrous transformation! From guilt to grace, from sinner to saint, from earthly to heavenly.
THE COOPERATION OF GOD AND MAN
Sanctification is not passive. Paul exhorts, “Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1). We work out what God works in. For “it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).
This is not striving for holiness but surrendering to the Holy One. When the heart yields, the Spirit fills. When obedience rises, purity deepens.
THE END GOAL: TOTAL SANCTIFICATION
The Spirit’s goal is nothing short of wholeness. “The very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless” (1 Thessalonians 5:23). He purifies every layer of our being until we reflect Christ Himself.
And why? Because “every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure” (1 John 3:3). Hope in Christ births holiness in life.
This is the Spirit’s masterpiece: to produce in us the likeness of the Son, to make us ready for the Father’s presence, and to fill us with heaven’s purity on earth.
A FINAL APPEAL
O my soul, will you yield to the Spirit’s refining fire? Will you obey the truth that sanctifies? For “except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). The Spirit alone can make you clean, can make you new, can make you holy.
The time is short. The world defiles, but the Word cleanses. The flesh deceives, but the Spirit renews. The Lord is calling for purified vessels, holy temples for His glory.
So today, let every heart pray:
“Spirit of the Living God, purge me, renew me, fill me with Thy truth. Make me clean within, that I might walk in Thy holiness and serve Thee with a pure heart.”
Call to Action: The Question That Demands an AnswerIn Acts 2:37 Peter and the Apostles were asked the question – What Shall We do? And in Acts 2:38 Peter answered, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. Do you understand this? After hearing the gospel and believing, they asked what should would do. The answer hasn’t changed friend, Peter clearly gave the answer. The question for you today is, Have you receieved the Holy Spirit Since you believed? If you’re ready to take that step, or you want to learn more about what it means to be born again of water and Spirit, visit: Come, and let the Spirit make you new. |